DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-1401280726_450_300 UV, Ozone, Or Chlorine: Which Solution Is Best For Your Treatment Plant?

No single disinfection method does it all. Utilities are combining chlorine, UV, and ozone to build more effective, flexible treatment strategies for today’s water challenges.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • AMI Reluctance And The Risk Of Doing Nothing

    Water utility systems that have transitioned to AMI benefit from increased revenue, reduced risk, improved customer relations, and widespread efficiencies across operations.

  • Multi-Phase Flow Meter (MPFM) Analysis

    Multi-phase flow meters are important for well surveillance and production allocation where there is multiple ownership. It is therefore important to track the accuracy of multi-phase flow meters, identify issues and ensure rapid corrective action. Read more to learn how the Seeq tools were used to analyze and monitor performance.

  • AFC Semper RPM'S “Lift And Shift” Ability Shines In Forsyth County, Georgia

    Since the Forsyth County, Georgia, Department of Water and Sewer deployed the AMERICAN Flow Control SEMPER Remote Pressure Monitor (RPM) more than a year ago, it has seen numerous advantages. But the AFC SEMPER’s ability to move from one system asset to another, “Lift and Shift,” is among the greatest.

  • Case Study: Singapore Utility Eliminates Harmful Transients Improving System Reliability And Prolonging The Asset Life

    Water scarcity has long prompted water self-sufficiency in Singapore, the third most densely populated country in the world, with 5.6 million residents crowded into just over 275 square miles.

  • Droughts, Pandemics, Recessions, And More: How Machine Learning Can Help Water Utilities Prepare

    Learn about some of the situations that can cause extreme changes in water usage patterns and how machine learning can help water utilities adapt.

  • Decoding Ozone Disinfection

    Disinfection is by far the most common use for ozone in water and wastewater treatment applications. The basics of ozone dosing / sizing have been discussed at length in any number of our previous articles. In this article, we are trying to provide better insight into decoding the why’s and how’s of your next ozone disinfection application. By Louis LeBrun, PE Thoram Charanda

  • Quick Solutions To PFAS In Drinking Water, Especially For Smaller Systems

    With funds falling short of costs for pending PFAS rules compliance, utilities require an economical treatment solution.

  • Keeping Track Of Your Control Valve Information

    Water production and distribution in the City of Redlands, California, is managed by the Municipal Utilities & Engineering Department and is supplied from two water supplies, Mill Creek and the Santa Anna River. Treatment is provided at two conventional water treatment plants, Tate WTP and Hinckley WTP, each capable of producing approximately 14 MGD. Water is then fed into 7 different pressure zones due to elevation changes through a series of pump stations.

  • AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe Used In Northwest Missouri's New Regional Water Authority

    What began as a lofty idea will soon become a reality as a new regional water authority is established in Northwest Missouri. The Great Northwest Wholesale Water Commission will supply water to more than 11,000 people in rural areas of Cameron and Maysville, Missouri, with the capability to expand to other communities in the future.

  • Xylem Factory Recycles 100% Of Its Process Water

    By leveraging natural surroundings, Xylem’s manufacturing facility in Emmaboda, Sweden, can recycle 100% of the plant’s process wastewater with its new water treatment. The plant helps ensure a continuous supply of safe water, even in times of water scarcity, using Xylem’s water reuse technologies.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

The Singer In-Line Strainer is carefully designed to protect valves and regulators from pipeline debris, so utilities don’t have to worry about costly maintenance, downtime, and repairs. Manufactured in ductile iron with corrosion-resistant stainless-steel screen, the screen design provides a smooth laminar flow, which is ideal for locations ahead of automatic control valves.

At Master Meter, we are focused on the future of water management.  Whether you’re serving small rural populations or major metropolitan areas, delivering water only or provisioning combination utilities, Master Meter is your partner to deliver game changing results across Finance, Customer Service, and Utility Operations. Master Meter’s vast sales presence and partner network ensure a personalized, attentive service to ensure your specific needs are met, and your expectations exceeded. Contact us today to determine which smart water metering solution is right for you. 

Harmsco® MUNI HP filters provide unsurpassed performance. Our patented Hurricane® design separates dense solids prior to cartridge filtration for extended filter life, increased dirt holding capacity and reduced maintenance costs.

Granular, powdered and extruded activated carbons for the primary treatment of water, recovery and recirculation of process liquors, and treatment of waste liquid streams. The AquaSorb® range of activated process water treatment carbon is manufactured from coal, coconut shell and wood raw materials through steam or chemical activation. Jacobi Carbons offers a supply of AquaSorb® in a range of granular, extruded (pelletised) and ground powder forms, which are specifically designed for use in the liquid phase adsorption systems. From use in large municipal treatment facilities, to small domestic use cartridges, AquaSorb® is synonymous with high efficiency, extended life and cost-effective solutions.

The WEDECO LBX Series is a thousand times proven, energy efficient solution for the disinfection of pressurized wastewater, surface water, process water, and other low UV transmittance liquids.

Installed under pressure, up to 250 psi, the Insta-Valve 250 increases operator safety, limits environmental impact, and saves up to 100% of the costs related to system shutdown.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

Take a quick tour of the Blue-White factory in Huntington Beach, California, where skilled employees are busy building chemical dosing pumps, complete metering systems and flow measurement equipment.

How much water does it take to make a hamburger? How about to manufacture a car? Having experienced growing up with limited resources living in a refugee camp in India, Anil Ahuja is leading a movement to design sustainable cities and systems that protect the earth and the people who live on it.

Discover how specialized restrained joints facilitate efficient horizontal directional drilling and bridge piping through a simplified, tool-free assembly process that ensures long-term reliability.

How does a combined sewer work? A representative from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) takes 60 seconds to draw a combined sewer and why they matter.

Dr. Jamie Dewitt explains her research in Phamacology and Toxicology and why water pollution might pose a problem no matter where you are.

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.